Pressroom MKE Opening on South Side

A pressman at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is taking over a bar and naming it for the trade he worked in for nearly 30 years.

Robert Holmes III and his wife Lisa Holmes will be opening the Pressroom MKE in the former Brew City Tap at 3105 W. Forest Home Ave.

Robert told Urban Milwaukee that fans and regulars of Brew City Tap shouldn’t expect many changes. He plans to maintain the bar’s tradition as a neighborhood tavern.

“I don’t see much changing other than the name,” he said, adding that he will add some decorations and photos in line with the bar’s new moniker.

Robert said he worked in the press room at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for nearly 30 years.

“I know the newspaper is not guaranteed forever,” he said. “Everyone wants to go digital.”

Concerned that the Journal Sentinel might eventually abandon its print product, he wanted something he could fall back on, Holmes said.

The autonomy that comes with being a bar owner sounded nice to him. “I decided I wanted to work for myself and not work for anyone else.”

Robert and his wife have been looking for a space for a tavern for about two years, he said. He had never seen the Brew City Tap before, but one day he and his wife were driving past and saw the for sale sign, so they stopped, called the number and soon made an offer.

The Pressroom MKE will be casual and family friendly, he said. Robert is turning 52 in February, and said he isn’t interested in being the proprietor of anything more than a laid-back neighborhood tavern.

With luck, he’ll be able to open in time for his birthday, but at the latest, he said, the plan is to have the bar up and running before May.

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